March Madness!

I had the incredible opportunity to hit Portland and enjoy my first ever NCAA Men's Tournament games. Best, Avid Reader, I got to watch the Washington Huskies and the Gonzaga Bulldogs!! In addition to making all of my NW friends super jealous, I will continue to do so by saying we had amazing seats altogether... and based on strategic selling of the first two sessions, went to the game (and parked!) for free!

Sadly, UW lost to Purdue 74-76, after an uninspired first half and an emotional second period. I'm convinced that had they had two more minutes on the clock, the Huskies would have moved on to the Sweet 16!

In the nightcap, Gonzaga beat Western Kentucky, but had to do so with a driving layin with 0.9 seconds left on the clock. WKU may have been the best surprise of the tournament -- with guards who could light it up from any spot on the court regardless of defense. Even Gonzaga fans were cheering when WKU scored as every shot was seemingly impossible to hit, yet they drained threes left and right. Loved it!

My sister Laura scored awesome seats, we didn't pay out a penny, we got to watch some awesome basketball and cheer for our team in the NCAA tournament second round. How much more awesome of a weekend can one have?!

The World Game is here!

Major League Soccer arrived in Seattle last night -- and I got to be there! The most significant sport in the world is just starting to make a dent in the U.S.; I was thrilled to be a part of something so important and global right in my own backyard.

With season tickets in Row ONE, John, Amy and I are PSYCHED to be a part of the inaugural season... and a part of sports history!

T-Birds, Sounders & Huskies, OH MY!

What will become the legacy of this trip home (besides The Lion King, a Bachelor Party, getting sick and a volleyball tournament) is the sports that have been or that will be witnessed over the course of mid-March!

Case in point: the Seattle Thunderbirds! A group of friends and I ventured south to Kent to see the new ShoWare Center and to support our local pro sports scene. In so doing, the T-Birds awarded us with a win over the Prince George Cougars and we got to witness all that is hockey...

-- a mascot!
-- the Chuck-a-Puck promotion (literally... chuck a puck into the truck)
-- two National Anthems!
-- body slams (my fave player was Stefan Warg; he was a beast!)
-- and of course... incredibly good people watching!

And yes, Avid Reader, we just might go back. And, yes, you're coming with us!

Now, relative to the other sports adventures that have or will have happened in the very near future, you're just going to have to check back for more!

MWBP!

Just back from Leavenworth, WA and Operation MWBP!

Matt Weaver's Bachelor Party was a hit all around: Coors Light & The Old Post Office Saloon, chips & cards, and a gaggle of awesome guys.

As I said in my last post, nothing says home like best friends and beer. Just those two this time; though any time JP & JW get together, there's plenty of drama!

p.s. Big shout out to the Washington Huskies men's basketball team for winning their first outright Pac-10 regular season championship in 56 years!

The Lion King!

After spending Wednesday traveling from Hong Kong to Tokyo to Seattle, I arrived in time to see the first of what will be many Broadway shows this season (RENT! WICKED! Fiddler on the Roof!) with the Weavers!

We caught the incredible sets & costumes of The Lion King last night at the Paramount Theater after an awesome catch-up meal at the new Buckley's in Belltown.

Nothing says welcome home like best friends, beer and Broadway!

Thank you, Hong Kong!

Many thanks to Kenneth, Doug, Richard, Stephen, Karen, Gina and Yukiko for making my time in Hong Kong a complete "10"! I look forward to seeing the fruit of The Moment for Greater Asia Pacific and am excited to be a part of the team!

Off-Site!

Today was Day One of Richard Dunmall's Greater Asia Pacific (we've been told that we can't say GAP) team off-site defining the Vision and Mission for the APS Regional team in Hong Kong. It very much reminds me of the early days of DRIVE whereby we could develop our business plans together, commit, then execute. Save this is Microsoft -- a company 80,000+ strong. And spanning, what, 15-20 countries? WOW. The opportunity!

Given that it's a new team, of course there was team building, and we did so by racing one another at an outdoor Go Kart venue so far from Hong Kong it may as well have been Mainland China! We followed with an awesome team dinner at Yellow Door in the heart of Central -- SoHo actually -- and enjoyed the fruits of the morning get-to-know-you and first working session as a team.

It was a treat to spend the day in a meeting like this one, to enjoy Go Kart racing with significantly fewer safety restrictions (pros & cons), and to celebrate what's to come over an amazingly -- and amazingly spicy -- meal. I'm excited to be an extended part of this team and look forward to what's to come!

Hong Kong Sunday p.1 -- Big Buddha

I ferried this morning out to Lantau Island to see this alleged "Big Buddha". Avid Reader, I've seen NOTHING more awesome in my entire life. 100% awe-spiring. No joke.

Lantau Peak was covered in fog so Tian Tan Buddha was hard to appreciate as you could only see this 34m statue up close. However, every now and again, the fog would briefly clear, and I could catch a glimpse. It was nothing short of a spectacle. Best, I was able to get up to the mountain before the gates opened, so was one of the first few with an uncongested hike up the 250 steps to see this amazing statue emerge from the misty mountains. Awesome, Avid Reader. Just awesome.



Having ferried over and bussed up, I caught the cable car down. I may have simply wrapped my head in a white sheet for the trip as I was completely enveloped in fog the entire way down the mountain. At lower elevations, I was able to capture the airport and a small Hong Kong village (HA!). And since it was an adventure, I was able to have a good time gearing up for Hong Kong Sunday p.2!

Hong Kong Sunday p.2 -- Disneyland Hong Kong!

Anaheim? Check.
Orlando? Check.
Paris? Check.
Tokyo? Check.
Hong Kong? Check!

I've done it! Part 2 of my adventure today included checking off the one Disneyland Park that I'd not previously visited: Disneyland Hong Kong! One subway stop from where the cable car dropped me off, I found myself at a transfer station to the Happiest Place on Earth. Being NOT CONFUSED AT ALL, I hopped the train and went to check out this American import.

I'll save the WONDERFUL details for you, Avid Reader, when you're in the mood to be Disney-ed out. Until then, however, I will simply leave you with a sampling of my adventures in photo form. Enjoy!